Learn French: Le public va arriver dans une heure. - The audience is going to arrive in an hour.

In French, dans is used to say when a future event will happen, just like saying 'in an hour from now' in English. If you used en, it would mean the action takes a certain amount of time to complete (like a task). Since we mean 'one hour from now', dans is the correct choice.

Why does Le public use the singular verb va when an audience is made of many people?

In French, le public is a collective noun. Even though it represents a group of people, the word itself is grammatically singular, so it must take a third-person singular verb like va.

Could I use the simple future tense here, like arrivera instead of va arriver?

Yes, you could! However, va arriver (is going to arrive) is the near future tense. French speakers often prefer this tense for events that are happening very soon or are already planned, making it perfect for an arrival happening in just one hour.

Can le public also mean 'the public' in general?

Yes, it can mean both 'the public' (people in general) and 'the audience' (people watching a show or event). The context of people arriving at a specific time usually points to an audience gathering for a performance.